roasted asparagus with pistachio nut purée
April 24, 2014 § 76 Comments
This is a seriously delicious light dinner. The recipe comes from a local Seattle cook Michael Natkin. He has a wonderful cookbook called Herbivoracious and a blog full of unique vegetarian recipes. Here we have a pistachio nut puree although as he puts it “puree isn’t quite the right word. It is more like a nut-based hummus; rich, creamy, slightly fluffy, but packed full of the flavor of roasted nuts.”
I n g r e d i e n t s
- 1 cup unsalted, roasted pistachios
- juice of 1/2 lemon
- 1 small garlic clove, thinly sliced
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
- 1/3 cup water, or a little more as needed
- 1 pound fat asparagus spears, trimmed
- extra virgin olive oil
- sea salt
- good quality balsamic vinegar
- 1/4 cup unsalted, roasted pistachios, coarsely chopped
- flaky salt
- fresh chives
Combine the pistachos, lemon juice, garlic, salt, cumin, smoked paprika, and half of the olive oil in the blender. With the lid on and the blender running on medium low speed, drizzle in the remaining oil and then the water, stopping to scrape down the sides as needed. Blend until color lightens and fairly smooth but not completely textureless. You may need to add a little more water.
Taste and adjust seasoning; it will likely need more salt and possibly more lemon juice or spices, but don’t overpower the pistachio flavor. Reserve, with plastic wrap on the surface to prevent oxidation.
Preheat oven to 400°F. Toss the asparagus with a bit of olive oil and sea salt. Roast on a baking sheet until tender, about 10 minutes. Turn on broiler and cook until blackened in spots. To serve, spoon the pistachio puree on a plate and place the asparagus on top. Garnish with the balsamic vinegar, chopped pistachios, flaky salt and snipped chives.
mac and cheese
April 21, 2014 § 79 Comments
Little people love macaroni and cheese. My son grew up on boxes of Annie’s shells and cheese. Some fortunate parents are able to sneak vegetables into the mix, such as peas or broccoli. Not us. He would not touch it if there was anything green inside. Thankfully he loved fruit and there was always little side dishes of strawberries, apples, grapes or oranges. Even adults needs this kind of food at times. The soft texture and mild cheesy flavor of macaroni and cheese remind us of our childhood meals, when we felt safe and cared for, bringing comfort to our soul.
I used mezzi rigatoni. This would have been wonderful with added english peas. The peas would have fit perfectly in the wide open holes of the rigatoni. But we couldn’t have anything green inside now could we?
I n g r e d i e n t s
- 1 pound of macaroni or rigatoni
- 1/2 stick of butter
- 1/3 cup all purpose flour
- 4 cups milk, heated
- 2 cups shredded extra sharp cheddar cheese
- 2 cups finely chopped american cheese – yes…the ooey gooey stuff…for the kids
- salt and ground pepper
- 1/4 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese
- hot pepper sauce (for serving)
M e t h o d
Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Add the pasta and cook until al dente. Drain well. Position a rack in the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 350°F. Butter a deep 4-quart casserole. Melt the butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Whisk in the flour. Gradually whisk in the milk. Bring to a simmer, stirring constantly, until the sauce thickens. Reduce the heat to low and simmer for 5 minutes. Remove from the heat and stir in 1 cup of the cheddar and 1 cup of the american cheese. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Spread one third of the pasta over the bottom of the casserole dish. Top with half of the shredded cheeses and a third of the sauce. Repeat, using another third of the pasta with the remaining cheese and half of the sauce. Finish with the remaining pasta and sauce. Sprinkle parmesan cheese over the top. Bake until bubbly and golden brown around the edges, about 30 minutes.
orange blossom honey cake
April 17, 2014 § 78 Comments
A few weeks ago I posted a honey cake adorned with rosemary blossoms. Here is another honey cake for you to try, this time using orange blossom honey and adorning the cake with glazed cara cara oranges.
My son, he’s 16, is the only member of this family with a sweet tooth. This cake was for him and by judging his reaction you get an idea of the deliciousness. “Mmmm, this is the best cake I have ever tasted.” He took another bite and with a mouth full said, “This is my new favorite cake!” After a few more bites he stood up, went to the refrigerator, poured himself a glass of milk and said, “Dad, even if you are full you must try a slice of this cake!” Success.
Recipe by The Bon Appétit Test Kitchen, June 2011 issue.
Syrupy Oranges:
- 1 cup sugar
- 3/4 cup orange blossom honey
- 3 tablespoons green cardamom pods, crushed
- 1 small orange, thinly sliced
Cake:
- 1/2 cup olive oil plus more for brushing
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/2 cup semolina flour
- 1- 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon ground cardamom
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 cup sugar, divided
- 3 large eggs, separated
- 2/3 cup plain whole-milk yogurt
- 1- 1/2 teaspoons grated orange zest
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- Chopped unsalted pistachios, lightly toasted
Bake cake until a toothpick inserted into center comes out clean, about 25 minutes. Pierce hot cake all over with a metal skewer. Slowly drizzle 3/4 cup warm syrup all over. When syrup is absorbed, slowly pour 3/4 cup more syrup over. Reserve remaining syrup for serving. Let cake cool in pan on a wire rack. Run a thin knife around edge of pan to release cake. Remove pan sides. Arrange candied orange slices over. Sprinkle pistachios over. Cut into wedges and serve drizzled with more syrup.
sweet pea pie
April 14, 2014 § 84 Comments
Most working folks would agree it is near impossible to cook an elaborate dinner mid week. If you take a look around the recipe page on this blog you will notice I have a tendency to keep our dinners real simple; most of my posts come from midweek meals. Rustic would be a good word to describe my cooking too. Take this pie for instance. See the uneven and overlapping edges? Midweek cooking. Simple and rustic.
Yesterday I spent six hours in the yard gardening. Bending, stretching, pulling, digging, and that was only the backyard! This morning I feel like I attended a six hour yoga class. My mind is clear and my body is invigorated.
Throughout the winter I seem to forget how beneficial it is for the mind to soak in sunshine, breathe fresh air, to put my hands in dirt and create a beautiful outdoor contemplative space. For me the benefits are comparable to cooking, both creating a calmness of mind. Cooking in the fall and winter, gardening in the spring and summer; calmness of mind is one of the beautiful jewels of life.
I n g r e d i e n t s
- basic pie crust recipe
- 10 ounces fresh peas
- 3 scallions
- ½ cup milk
- 2 eggs
- 9 ounces gorgonzola cheese
- Extra virgin olive oil
- Salt
- Pepper
Preheat oven to 400F. Roll out dough on floured surface, transfer onto pie dish.
To make filling, slice scallions thinly and sauté them in olive oil. Add peas and cook for a few minutes, stirring often. Season with salt and pepper.
Spoon half of the peas mixture over the dough, cover with a layer of crumbled gorgonzola and top with more peas. In a small bowl mix eggs, milk, a little salt and pepper and pour mixture over peas. I scattered a few young scallion strands on the top.
Bake for about 45 minutes.
charcuterie wrapped asparagus
April 11, 2014 § 85 Comments
Funny how you think about a certain food and next thing you know you are at the market gathering your ingredients then in your kitchen preparing it. This happened to me yesterday. Out of the blue I thought about proscuitto wrapped asparagus. I have only had this delicacy once and it was quite a few years ago. All I remember is the effort it took cooking a few dozen of them in a skillet. A laborious task for my style of cooking, so I never prepared them again.
Until now. Now I realize your don’t have to toss them around in a hot skillet and watch them unravel. Simply roast them in the oven until the asparagus are tender and the cured meat is crispy. I like simple foods and I like simple ingredients. Salty pork wrapped around fresh spring asparagus and roasted in the oven until crisp is not complicated. And serving a warm soft boiled egg to dunk your asparagus into is perfection itself.
This idea is not original, you can find many versions of these little delights also known as “asparagus soldiers” online. Rather than proscuitto I chose a mixture of salchichon (a Spanish salame), Jamón Serrano (dry cured ham) and chorizo cantimpalo.
I n g r e d i e n t s
- one dozen fat asparagus stalks
- 12 slices of proscuitto or other type of thinly sliced cured meat
- 4 eggs
- olive oil
- salt & pepper
Preheat your oven to 450° F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Slice off the woody ends of each asparagus and discard. Wrap the asparagus stalks in charcuterie. Place the asparagus onto the baking sheet and drizzle with a little olive oil. Roast for about 15 minutes, or until the meat is crispy. While the asparagus is roasting, soft boil your eggs. Fill a saucepan about halfway with water and bring it to a boil. Decrease the temperature so that the water reduces to a rapid simmer and gently lower the eggs into the water one at a time. Cook the eggs for 5-7 minutes: 5 minutes for a yolk that is still runny and 7 minutes for a yolk that is barely set. Drain the eggs and run them under cold tap water for 30-60 seconds. Use a knife or egg-cutter to take the cap off the tip of the egg and serve right away in either an egg cup or use a portion of your egg carton.
spring peas & mint
April 7, 2014 § 75 Comments
Tender sweet peas are showing up at the market and what could be better than a springtime pasta. English peas and mint are always a natural pair, and I always love combining the two. If you are a fan of spaghetti carbonara, consider this its kin, with bacon instead of guanciale, parmesan instead of pecorino, and no eggs. I would say it’s a lighter version of carbonara, but I can’t. It has heavy cream. And you wouldn’t want to leave it out. For once, enjoy the cream, it’s worth it. This recipe is from Saveur Magazine. The mint will make you smile. The peas will give you spring fever and the bacon…well, you know. And besides, it smells fantastic!
I n g r e d i e n t s
- 1 pound penne
- 2 cups heavy cream
- 1 1⁄2 cups fresh or frozen peas
- 1⁄2 cup grated parmesan
- sea salt & black pepper
- 6 ounces thinly sliced prosciutto, serrano, or bacon
- 1 cup fresh mint leaves, torn
M e t h o d
polenta pudding cake
April 2, 2014 § 74 Comments
Here is a wonderful citrusy pudding cake for you to try. This lemony pudding cake shares flavor characteristics of a lemon meringue, however, setting it apart is the wonderfully textured little bits of corn polenta. Perhaps I should have used a fine grain polenta but didn’t have any on hand. The recipe didn’t specify, so I used what we had and enjoyed the tiny crunchy bits!
I was visiting my favorite second hand store a few weeks ago and stumbled upon and purchased a gorgeous hand thrown mug and a copy of My French Kitchen, written by Joanne Harris & Fran Warde. After skimming through the cookbook I have eighteen page flagged recipes. A delightful cookbook for only two dollars! This pudding cake is the third recipe I have prepared from the book and all have turned out beautifully. I have fifteen more to go and I’ll certainly be sharing the recipes here.
I n g r e d i e n t s
- 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons (2-1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened, plus more for the dish
- 1 -1/4 cups sugar, preferably superfine
- 3 lemons
- 4 large eggs
- 3/4 cup polenta
- 1/4 cups ground almonds (use a food processor)
- 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
- Heavy creams, to serve
Heat the oven to 350°F. Lightly butter an 8 inch pie plate. In a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugar with an electric mixer until smooth. Finely grate the lemon zest from 2-1/2 lemons and then juice the lemons. Add the zest and juice to the creamed butter and mix. Thinly slice the remaining 1/2 lemon and set aside. Beat in the eggs – the mixture will curdle, but do not worry, this is normal. Then beat in the the polenta and ground almonds. Finally, fold in the flour with a large spoon.
Transfer the batter to the pie plate, arrange the lemon slices on top and bake for 25-30 minutes. Serve warm with a pitcher of cream for pouring.
cabbage galette
March 31, 2014 § 60 Comments
A recipe from My French Kitchen. “This is an old peasant dish from the Auvergne region, and although it is known as Galette au Chou, it is quite different from the Breton galettes. It is dense and filling, and can be eaten hot or cold, although this dish is best served just warm.” quote from book.
When I read this recipe I was so intrigued about how the crusty top was prepared and I knew I had to make it. There are only three of us here in this house and although the recipe says it serves six, this pie was gone by the end of the night. And we are far from gluttons! Or maybe not so far? Nevertheless, I had to promise to make another one soon. With that said, you must know the pie is good!
I n g r e d i e n t s
- 1/2 head green cabbage, preferably Savoy, cored and roughly chopped
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 7 ounces of thick cut bacon (approximately 7 slices)
- 2 large eggs
- 3 shallots, finely diced
- bunch of flat-leaf parsley, finely chopped
- 3 garlic cloves, chopped
- sea salt, to taste
- freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- 1 cup milk
- 1-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
Heat the oven to 350°F. Steam the cabbage for 3 minutes over boiling water. Smear a pie dish with olive oil and heat it in the oven. In a large bowl, mix the bacon, eggs, shallots, parsley, garlic, salt, and pepper. Add the milk and flour, and mix into a smooth dough. Remove the hot pie dish from the oven. Spread half the dough over the base of the dish, pile on the cabbage and pack it down with your hands, and cover with the remaining dough. Bake for 35 minutes, until golden and firm.
french green lentils
March 25, 2014 § 82 Comments
Garnering inspiration from Johnny’s Kitschnflavours and Gwynne’s The Crafty Cook Nook, led me to prepare lentils twice in the last seven days! It was this post that started it off and then this post sent me to the market in search of puy lentils. What I found were “french green lentils” and although I am not sure if they are “Puy” lentils, characteristically speaking they have similar qualities from the descriptions I have read. These lentils are small, plump and have a somewhat nutty flavor. They hold their shape and size after cooking and do not get mushy and muddied. My french green lentils were well worth the small fortune I spent on them. There is no comparison to the regular brown lentils I have stored in my cupboard.
This recipe is from Gwynne’s lovely blog. Using my french green lentils I set out following her recipe and it turned out wonderfully! We added a bit more chili for heat and served it with warm naan.
I n g r e d i e n t s
- 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 yellow onion, finely chopped
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 tablespoons grated peeled fresh ginger
- 2 teaspoons ground turmeric
- 1 teaspoon coriander seeds, crushed
- 1 jalepeño or serrano chile, seeded and minced
- 2 cups french green lentils, rinsed
- 6 cups vegetable stock
- 1 28-oz can crushed tomatoes in juice
- 1 teaspoon sea salt
- 1 tablespoon tomato paste
- 1 avocado, cut for topping
- handful fresh cilantro leaves, torn
- 2 limes, cut into wedges
M e t h o d
Heat the olive oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add the onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until soft and just golden brown, 7 to 10 minutes. Add the garlic, ginger, turmeric, and coriander seeds, and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Stir in the jalepeño, lentils, stock, tomatoes and their juices, tomato paste, and salt. Raise the heat to medium high, cover loosely, and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium and simmer, stirring occasionally, until the lentils are tender, 20 to 25 minutes, depending on how much bite you like in your lentils. Just before serving, warm the naan in a griddle and place in a warm cloth on the table. Spoon the lentils into bowls, and top with avocado, sprinkle with cilantro and serve with lime wedges.
honey cake
March 21, 2014 § 93 Comments
I noticed my rosemary bush was full of blossoms the other day and my first thought was honey cake! Tessa Kiros suggested making this cake when you are lucky enough to have tiny purple flowers on your rosemary bush so you can scatter them over the finished cake. And she was right. This comes from her book “Apples for Jam”.
We love this honey cake. It is dense, moist, heavily flavored with honey and a hint of rosemary. The frosting is simply butter, lemon and powdered sugar. I have been making this cake for years and finally, this is the first time I have timed it right with the rosemary blossoms.
Goodbye winter, hello spring! All week I have been waking up to the song of robins. It is my understanding spring begins at the first sound of a robin’s song. Perhaps it has to do with the vertical migration of the earthworms once the ground has thawed.
I n g r e d i e n t s
- 1/4 pound + 3 tablespoons butter
- 1/2 cup brown sugar
- 1/2 cup honey
- 1-1/2 tablespoons water
- 1-2/3 cup of all purpose flour
- 1-1/2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 tablespoon finely chopped rosemary leaves
- 2 eggs, beaten
L e m o n F r o s t i n g
- 2 cups confectioners’s sugar
- 7 tablespoons butter, softened
- 1 teaspoon grated lemon zest
- 1-1/2 tablespoons water
- 3 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
M e t h o d
Grease and line the bottom of an 8-1/2 inch springform pan. Put the butter, brown sugar, and honey in a small saucepan and add 1 1/2 tablespoons of water. Heat gently, stirring once or twice, until the butter melts and the sugar dissolves. Leave to cool for 15 minutes. Preheat the oven to 350°F.
Sift the flour, baking powder, and cinnamon into a bowl and add the rosemary. Add the honey mixture and eggs and beat until smooth. Pour into the pan and bake for 35-40 minutes, or until a skewer comes out clean when you poke it into the center. Leave in the pan to cool completely.
To make the frosting, sift the confectioners’ sugar into a bowl. Add the butter, lemon zest and juice, and 1-1/2 tablespoons of water and beat until smooth. You might like to add a few more drops of lemon juice after tasting it. Spread over the top and sides of the cake. The cake softens as it sits and will keep well for up to a week in a covered container.
COTTAGE GROVE HOUSE 